BOSTON — Jayson Tatum had 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists Sunday as the Celtics beat the Raptors 115-101 and moved one step closer to locking in the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points, but the win was built on Tatum’s all-around night and a second-half push that kept the Celtics three games ahead of the third-place Knicks with four games left. Boston, now 53-25, did it while making just 8 of 28 3-pointers, committing 18 turnovers and still scoring 76 points in the paint. That kind of split game matters now because the Celtics are chasing playoff rhythm as much as seeding, and Thursday’s trip to New York will give them a direct look at the team most likely to challenge them in the bracket.
The bigger development for Boston was the return of Nikola Vucevic, who was back after missing one month with a broken right ring finger. Acquired from the Bulls in February, he finished with four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes, and the Celtics were outscored by 14 points while he was on the floor. The roughest stretch came in his eight-minute stint, when Toronto outscored Boston by 15 after the Celtics led 22-15 when Vucevic checked in with 4:57 left in the first quarter.
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Even so, Brown said it was important to have him back and said the club has to keep building toward the playoffs. Boston has talked all season about finding ways to win when the 3-pointer is not falling, and Sunday fit that description. Neemias Queta made his case for more minutes with 18 points and seven rebounds on 9 of 10 shooting, giving the Celtics another answer inside when the perimeter game went cold.
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Queta said he thinks about his role all the time, but that his main goal is helping the team win. Vucevic said he felt comfortable in the flow of the offense and defense, even if the night was not perfect and there were mistakes. For Boston, the result was the same: a win with its full roster finally available, and a playoff preview waiting in New York.
